GA/AP/811, 13 March 1978
Following is the text of a message sent by the Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, Leslie O. Harriman (Nigeria), to the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow:
I have noted with great interest that you have convened meetings of Government representatives at UNESCO headquarters to prepare a draft declaration on race and racial prejudice. This meeting is most timely, at the mid-point of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and on the eve of the International Anti-Apartheid Year.
The Special Committee against Apartheid has appreciated the important role played by UNESCO, since its inception, in combating racism. The four historic statements of experts sponsored by it - the "Statement on Race" (1950), the "Statement on the Nature of Race and Race Differences: (1951), the "Propositions on the biological aspects of race" (1964), and the "Declaration on Race" (1967) - have been powerful instruments in combating obscurantist and vicious pseudo-scientific justifications of racism.
The time has indeed come to elaborate a governmental declaration with a view to mobilizing the governments, organizations and people of the world in eradicating the causes and effects of racism and racial discrimination. I hope the forthcoming meetings will formulate a declaration which will not only enjoy unanimous support of all governments but will lead to concrete action to fulfil the purposes of the Decade.
Racism can no more be treated as an erroneous ideology nor even as a disease. The facts are already clear, thanks partly to the efforts of UNESCO. Racism must now be branded a crime which has caused and continues to cause untold suffering to humanity, and a constant menace to peace; it must be suppressed and punished with all the powers at the command of the international community.
The Special Committee against Apartheid, which is concerned with one of the most vicious manifestations of racism in the modern world, pledges its full co-operation to UNESCO. It has been acutely aware that the eradication of apartheid in South Africa is not only a prerequisite to freedom in that country but also a major contribution to the abolition of racism which constitutes the major hindrance to peace and international co-operation. The UNESCO's efforts are a major component of international action to build a new world order based on the principle of human equality and human dignity.